I Went to North Korea. And Came Back. Alive. On my 21st Birthday.

Despite rain our first day in Dandong, our trip to the North Korean border went swimmingly (and no one got arrested! Or kidnapped! Or killed!)

We took the night train to Dandong on Thursday night and spent Friday tromping around in the rain, visiting a bridge that used to cross the Yalu River to North Korea, but had been bombed during the Korean War, attending a Manchu dance and drum performance (which was unfortunately cancelled half-way through due to the rain), eating a fire-roast lamb and making s'mores (in the rain) over the same fire. These were some epic s'mores though: lemon, apple and orange flavored marshmallows with dark chocolate and digestive biscuits. Super delicious!

The next day we took a boat ride on one of the lakes up there and saw some beautiful scenery as well as a thousand-year-old tree and some Buddhist landmarks (and climbed some super steep stairs. I mean seriously, who planned that? China must have awful civil engineers. I mean, I know I'm climbing a mountain, but if you're going to install stairs, try a little harder, mk?) That night we had a free evening in the city (relatively small by China standards, but still quite large by American standards) and we spent it restaurant-hoping (I ate dog), KTV (karaoke, which is super swank in China, btw), watching about 100 people dance in a city square (sort of impromptu, everyone knows the moves and it's like watching a musical or something) and wandering along the river comparing the pitch-black North Korea to the brightly-lit China. Never before had China looked quite so well off.

The next morning (MY BIRTHDAY! WHOA!), we headed off to the Great Wall! Thanks to a combination of how the Great Wall was constructed (connected bits and pieces of local walls) and the development, this stretch of the wall isn't as long as other portions, but potentially older, originally built to keep out those stinking Mongols and now acting as a less functional but equally symbolic barrier against North Korea. Our portion of the Wall was irritatingly vertical and I'd think defending it might be just as difficult as attempting to invade it but it was really cool to look out over China and North Korea at the same time. We also climbed around the mountain on which it was built and were able to jump across the border for a few minutes, beyond the fence and I'm sure the Korean military were happy to see us to this. But not as happy as they were to see the two guys from our program moon them!

This is China.

This is not.

After the Wall, we took a boat ride onto the river to come alongside the border, drawing the differences between China and Korea at a starker and starker contrast. On the Chinese side of the river, you've got huge buildings and loads of people, bright lights, commerce. On the Korean side, you've got a few factories, fishing boats and dated buildings. A few people on the shore who, for some reason, are all wearing the same clothing. However, everyone seemed quite friendly to us, waving and smiling, even the military men on a boat that passed by us. It was a very odd experience to see a place that is so closed to Western eyes at such a (relatively) close perspective. Certainly an odd, almost eerie experience and you find yourself spotting North Koreans and staring, as if they are animals you've only ever seen in the zoo.

After dinner at a Korean restaurant with an odd show involving women dressed in Korean-wear and playing electric guitars, we headed off the take the train back to Harbin, arriving around 4 am. Pretty memorable birthday weekend!

Oh hey, North Korea. WAT UP.

Also, I apologize that my blog has gotten progressively less cute with fewer fun things to click due to a) my lessened amount of time, and b) internet problems. Sorry!

P.S. I'll be back in the States in less than a month. Um. What?